°C-ute’s love just keeps on escalating

Thank you, Japan for the super-schoolgirl look with °C-ute in 'Theme Song of a Child,' April 2008.

Until the arrival of °C-ute’s “Love Escalation!” DVD from its April 5 show at – you guessed it, Yomiuri Land East’s outdoor bandshell – it would have been easy to conclude that the world’s finest septet had decided to slow down the freight train that trampled all over Japanese music in 2007.

Wrong. If anything, °C-ute’s gone the other way, despite the low-key appearance of its newest album and most recent singles. The unending roll continues. While other Hello! Project groups like Berryz Kobo and Morning Musume sort of float along,°C-ute’s stock is ever-rising. It’s easy to conclude that after watching this show, a daring daylight performance under what appear to be perfect spring conditions at Yomirui Land East – replete with wispy cherry blossoms wafting through the air.

Chisato, left, and Hagiwara were masterful in 'Love Machine,' in a version that rivaled Momusu's.

Day shows outdoors are rough, and °C-ute is one of the few J-pop groups that would even attempt one. Conditions are brutal, the crowd often more overbearing and sound logistics dicey at best. The sun got to the girls, as it did in 2006 when the then-rookie °C-ute squad – including the ill-fated Megumi who left the group soon thereafter – battled bad head microphones, heat and wind at this very venue. It was breezy in this show, but they killed every song without fail, bravely squinting all the while.

Thousands of cherry blossoms, background, spiced up this show for °C-ute and the crowd.

DohhhUp! did post a version of °C-ute’s opening salvo of the Yomiuri Land East concert, “The Theme Song of a Child Who Is Praised and Grows.” It’s albeit somewhat preachy, and aimed at parents who might be prone top mistreating their kids. The song as shown on DohhhUp! doesn’t seem to have any punch until it is seen and heard in context of the whole show.

Suzuki, third from right, couldn't help but grin through the start of 'Love Machine.'

And it was actually two shows in one. °C-ute first rattled off in rather expeditious fashion its latest tunes, including its recent album and the single “Color of Tears.” But the second half of the show was sensational, because it reprised the astonishing singles of the previous year, including “Tokaikko Junjou” and “Jump,” and pulled off a real surprise by performing practically the entire Morning Musume classic, “Love Machine.”

From left, crisp execution was order of the day for Maimi, Kanna and Hagiwara.

That surprise came as a conclusion to yet another entertaining comedy episode of the long-running “D.J. Mai Mai” series, featuring 12-year-old Mai Hagiwara as the error-prone music D.J. who gets her songs mixed up – and good-naturedly lampoons other H!P groups, including Berryz Kobo, in the process.

From left, Suzuki, Chisato and Maimi make the magic happen during 'Love Machine.'

It was just one of many humorous moments in this show, as almost all seven members had their turn at vaudeville-style standup sketches that were not only funny buy very musical as well. The DVD is well worth the $40 price tag at YesAsia.com.

Every seat was sold, but nobody sat during 'Love Escalation,' April 2008, Yomiuri Land East.

Bottom line: °C-ute is an ensemble that is still on one of the hottest and longest-running upward crescendos of any pop group in history – and there is no end in sight.

This is Rad signing off – for now.